Hope
by Mephiles
Summary: My First story. Just my own view of how Silver and Blaze from the nextgen games could of met. It's nothing spectacular but I would appreciate reviews and criticisim please.


Mephiles:

I would appreciate it if you please review my story and welcome all forms of constructive criticism. Thank You

Hope:

There had never before been a more tragic scene painted then that of Earth's fate. Stretching from horizon to horizon, a vast endless track of ruins and rubble. Once tall skyscrapers stood crumbling, their debris strewn across the ground. Groaning as they slowly collapsed into nothingness, finally giving way to years of destruction.

It was a dark place; the brilliance of the sun blotted out by great clouds of ash and smoke which slowly choked the life out of the Earth as they wrapped it in their killing embrace. Darkness seeped into every small crook and nanny leaving nowhere for the light to hide.

Lightining flashed back in forth in a constant erratic dance of light and noise, trailing glittering arcs of eldritch glow behind them. The forbidding scene was lit constantly by the eerie red aura of the Flames.

The Flames. Vast rivers of molten magma churned across the world, hissing and bubbling as they slowly pooled into crevices and craters. Storms of fire raged across the plains leaving only ruin in their wake. Across the world great fires blazed, eternal infernos of destruction.

The once beauteous "Blue Planet" resembled nothing more than a charred ball of ash, littered with ruins and scars.

* * *

Amongst the rafters of falling spires, a lone figure watched as the fires burned ever onwards. Slowly wrapping his mind around the identity of the being responsible for this devastation.

A being who had left only carnage in his wake as he despoiled the world in his mad hunger for destruction. A being whose mere existence continued to unleash a never-ending stream of monstrosities upon the innocent survivors of this world everyday.

A being who, in all is power did not even comprehend or acknowledge the existence of the defenseless souls he tormented day after day. The "Flames of Disaster" known only as…

"Iblis," The figure cursed

* * *

She yelped as another piece of refuse went whistling by her ear, mere inches from her face. '_Have to keep running, have to keep running!' _Her thoughts near screamed at her as she fled from the enraged mob behind her. Rotten vegetables, broken rubble and an assortment of other discarded items flew past her as the mob gave pursuit, their missiles accompanied by a cavalcade of obscenities and jeers.

With her unnatural agility and grace it was no difficulty dodging and avoiding the crude missiles, but the jeers were inescapable. They stung worse than any amount of rocks or debris. "Freak!" "Abomination!" "Monster!" and yet worse names still rang in her ears long after she had escaped their wrathful pursuit.

As the mob of human survivors made their way slowly back towards whatever ruin they now used as a temporary shelter, their victim heaved a long sigh. '_When will this ever end?' _She thought to herself bitterly before resting herself casually against a large upturned piece of rubble to catch her breathe and some shade.

'_Well, when things go bad…' _She thought to herself glumly

* * *

The lone figure floated slowly through the city, his form wrapped in a strange teal fire, which seemed to envelop him from the inside out. His large golden eyes moved over the city, meticulously memorizing every detail. He paused in his constant survey as he spied a lone figure resting on a ruined outcropping.

' _Well that can't be safe,' _He thought to himself as he began a slow descent towards the figure to get a better vantage point. _'Who are you?' _He found himself strangely intrigued by the figure's seeming nonchalance in such a dangerous environment. _'I wonder if…' _He caught himself halfway through his thought as a sudden movement caught his attention. Advancing rapidly from the figures blind side were three motley human survivors and from their equipment and mannerisms he could only guess what their intentions were.

"Oh no"

* * *

She rested her head gently upon the jagged surface of an upturned piece of pavement behind her. Slowly allowing herself to float away upon her subconscious as she left the waking realm, allowing her senses and thoughts to rest. Her breathing quickly changed from ragged, rapid breathes to deeper more peaceful ones.

_Clonk! _Her world exploded around her as starry lights flashed rapidly across her vision and her skull seemed to burst into a million white hot splinters inside her own head. "Ahhhhh" She let out a strangled yell, reaching for the back of her head with her free hand as she braced her forward fall with the other. She heaved herself with a mighty push, turning herself flat on her back as she brought her hand in front of her. She could feel tears slowly threatening to pour out of her eyes unchecked as she saw the blood, which had leaked, unto her hands.

"Wadz de matter Kitty-Cat?" The tall human asked in his crude language. Glaring down at her as he heaved the large iron bar he had in two hands above his head for another blow.

'_This is it'_ was all that she could think, as she closed her eyes tightly and waited for the inevitable crunch.

It was some time till she opened her eyes again, gathering the courage and curiosity to see why her death was being so prolonged. What she saw first was the group of three shabby human survivors gazing in terrified awe at the iron bar before them. What she saw second was the way the iron bar seemed to be hovering in midair wrapped in a sort of emerald glow. What she saw last and what really caught her attention was what the iron bar did!

As one the humans let out terrified yelps and howls as the iron bar seemed to suddenly come to life, swinging itself left and right as if wielded by an invisible warrior. By the time the iron bar had stopped whirling around her would-be attackers were long gone.

"Not to smart are they?" The voice was firm and yet young at the same time. She did not miss the humorous undertone to it and whirled around to see her "Saviour" chuckling to his own joke. She gazed at him curiously.

"What?" He asked slowly after a moment of silence.

"A Hedgehog?" She asked curiously unable to contain her interest.

The figure was humanoid in shape, resembling a basic bipedal anthromorphic hedgehog. He wasn't particularly intimidating, standing a foot or so shorter then her, head spines not included. He was covered in short, coarse, white fur, which seemed to bristle in the heat. His two eyes were large and golden, full of passion. His most distinguishing feature by far were the set of long, sensitive spines, which stretched from his forehead forming a half-star pattern.

"Are you okay?" He asked concerned as the stranger began to rub the back of her head slowly.

"Yeah, yeah" She said hesitantly as she looked up at him.

She was feline; a humanoid cat whose fur was a light pink, whilst one long stripe of white seemed to dominate the center of her forehead. A single red oval sat in the center of her forehead whilst her clothes were a deep purple covering most of her body. _'It must get really hot in there?' _He thought to himself, as he looked her up and down.

She gave an awkward cough and he quickly averted his eyes realizing he had been staring a bit.

"Umm, thanks?" She tried hesitantly after a while, as she desperately attempted to find somewhere to look besides him.

"Your welcome" He said smiling brightly as he floated down in front of her, seemingly undaunted by the awkward situation.

"Why were they chasing you?" The albino Hedgehog asked as he peered at her curiously. She shrugged dismissively.

"Their humans. Do they really need a reason? I mean isn't that what they always do?" she said, hoping he wouldn't detect the venom lacing her words.

"You obviously have something against them, huh?" The Hedgehog asked with a wry smile as he turned to examine the path the humans had taken.

"Really? What gave it away?" She said in good humour returning her new acquaintance's smile.

"Well, where to beg…" He was cut off in mid-sentence as a terrified scream was followed shortly by a loud roar of fury no natural creature could emit.

"Their in trouble." He said simply before his eyes flickered with teal power and he was wrapped in an aura of telekinetic power, before vanishing in a flash as he sped towards the noise.

She stared after him for while, wondering to herself why she had a sudden urge to follow him. Surely there was nothing more she wanted to talk to him about and she didn't exactly have anything to thank him with. But still, she wanted to see for herself exactly what this strange Hedgehog was capable of. _'Besides it had been years since she had last had such a pleasant, albeit short, conversation. She somehow felt it would only be fair to help him do whatever it was he was planning to do, and he seemed nice enough she might even make a friend of him…Way to much thinking' _She quickly reminded herself.With that she sped off after him.

* * *

The Hedgehog's keen eyes quickly found the three humans from before, huddling together as they stared in horror at the monster before them. The creature let loose another hellish roar, drowning the humans own screams out, as it began to snake towards them. The creature resembled an enormous worm of coal and magma. It stunk of sulphur and left a charred path in its wake. All around it the air warped and flowed, caught in the intense heat its body projected.

The three-part beak that sat on top of its gullet hole, clacked together to create an ominous noise. The Hedgehog immediately began searching for something to toss. His eyes settled on a large piece of concrete which had been blasted free of the road. Focusing his mind he extended his hand slowly and allowed his power to engulf it.

The debris shot like a rocket, projected by the Hedgehog's telekinesis at an alarming rate towards the "Lava Worm," There was an enormous _Smash _as the concrete slammed into the creature, throwing up a curtain of soot which hung in the air and completely obscured it from view.

'_Not bad'_ the cat thought slowly to herself. The hedgehog quickly turned from where his foe had once been, facing the humans instead. "Don't worry, it won't be bothering you again," He assured them with a faint smile. In response they stared back at him with blank expressions, until one calmly raised his hand and screamed.

He turned around in alarm to see what they were screaming at and froze as he saw the damaged "Lava Worm" rearing up a few inches from his face, apparently oblivious to the fact that it was now missing half of it's body. Frozen with fear he could only stare as the creature's cruel mouth descended on him and he smelt the horrible odour of sulphur filling his nose.

In a instant a fiery comet seemed to form from nowhere, slashing directly through the creature's head, leaving a fiery streak in it's wake. The hedgehog fell to his feet as the ground was rocked by a series of fiery detonations. He looked up to see what had become of his attacker but found only a pile of ash and cinders. _'What the?' _He thought to himself as he gazed at his surroundings. Searching for whoever had unleashed the fiery barrage.

"You looked like you could use some help," He turned around to face the familiar voice and found himself staring at the smiling cat girl once again.

"Thanks" he said, returning her smile. The two stood in silence staring at each other for a while as their eyes spoke volumes. A muffled cry interrupted their conversation and caught their attention as they quickly turned to see the three humans fleeing off into the distance.

"Your welcome," the cat girl murmured to herself bitterly as she watched the fleeing humans with no small amount of disgust. The hedgehog saw this from the corner of his eye and sighed regretfully.

"Do you need a place to stay?" He asked her simply as he turned to walk. She gazed up at him in curiosity. _'Aren't you the generous fellow' _she thought to herself as she examined the young hedgehog. "Alright," she answered, leaping down from her vantage point to follow him. The hedgehog smiled at her before turning around to lead the way. _'It'd been a while since he had someone to talk to besides himself' _

* * *

The two had been walking for some time before she finally asked the question. The log tedious walk had given her time to brood in the silence and for her curiosity to grow. Eventually, unable to keep her thoughts to herself any longer she raised her head to speak. "Why do you save them?" she asked simply as she gazed at the back of his head.

"Why not? Everyone deserves a chance to live" he replied casually not breaking his stride.

"I know, I know, but… They didn't even thank you or reward you, so why keep doing it for nothing?" She asked again struggling to exactly voice her feelings into word. It was an awkward procedure for her; she had never been too big on words preferring to let her actions speak for her. But right now she had no actions to use.

The Hedgehog came to an abrupt stop and raised his head to look at the darkened sky before him. He let out a heavy sigh before turning around to look at her. In his eyes she saw a trace of what looked like regret and, and… Pity?

"I don't need to be thanked or rewarded for what I do, but I must continue to do it," he said, his voice sounding wise beyond his years.

"To stop helping others merely for my own personal gain would be to surrender all hope I have left of stopping Iblis once and for all," this time their was a deep passion in his voice as his eyes shone with a unshakable faith and determination in his mission.

'_Stop Iblis! She had seen and heard of many strange and insane things in her life, but a single Hedgehog hoping to defeat Iblis… That had to be the craziest thing she had ever heard' _She thought to herself as she stared incredulously at the boy.

"What chance could one Hedgehog have against all this!" she asked angrily as she threw her hands around her motioning towards the devastation around her. He stared at her solemnly, seeming unphased by her outburst. He stared long and hard before finally answering her.

"I fight because I hope to succeed and I keep fighting because I am alive and as long as I am alive there is hope for this world yet. Iblis has taken many things from me but no matter how hard or long he burns he can never take my hope from me. Yes he is great, and yes, he is eternal, he could kill me with the merest fraction of his power, but he does not. He fears me because I have hope, and hope is a flame. No one knows better than Iblis how fast a flame can spread, so he fears that my hope will kindle the hope in others and then they shall kindle other hope as well, until the day finally comes when all the world stands against him. Every night I dream of that day and that is why I fight. That is why I hope." The Hedgehog's eyes glowed with passion. He seemed to radiate it all around him, she could feel his resolve burning inside of him, see it glowing from within him like a white hot inferno greater than all the fire storms around them, and deep within her own heart she could feel something… "Kindle."

"But it's so futile" her voice was soft now as she stared sadly down at the ruined world below her, and the darkened sky around her seemed that much darker.

"What hope do** we **have?" She asked sadly staring at him.

He smiled, his eyes lit with compassion as he gazed at her.

"Even if it is futile, every breath in my body will be spent trying!" He said his voice firm and his heart aglow. She placed her hand on her own heart staring wide eyed as she felt something. A heat rising inside of her, but a pleasant heat. A feeling which seemed to reach out from her heart, all through her body, till she could feel her own heart glowing with hope. It had been so long since she had last had hope that she had forgotten how it really felt.

The hedgehog prepared to leave, slowly summoning a teal aura about himself. His thoughts were interrupted though by a question.

"Do you need a partner?"

"Excuse me?" He asked, turning to stare in confusion at the cat girl, who now stood tall, arms crossed with a half-smile on her face. She sighed, rolling her eyes in mock exasperation.

"You know… A sidekick or ally or whatever you want to call it," She said coming closer.

He stared at her uncomprehending of his situation. She smiled at his naivety.

'Do you need a friend?" she said, extending her hand towards him. He stared at it for moment then gripped it gently in his own.

"Blaze, Blaze the Cat," she said by way of introduction.

"Silver" He replied.

"Silver the Hedgehog?" She inquired as the two began to walk off together into the dark.

"No, Just Silver" He answered with a smile.

The End

Mephiles:

I Hope you enjoyed it and please remember to leave a review.


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